Floating soft trigger for touch displays on an electronic device with a scanning module

ABSTRACT

A portable electronic device (100) having a touch screen (112) with a floating soft trigger icon (175) for enabling various functions of the electronic device (100), such as bar code reading, capturing RFID data, capturing video and images, calling applications, and/or placing phone calls. The floating trigger icon (175) is displayed on the touch screen (112) to enable easy identification and access of the trigger icon (175). The trigger icon (175) may be selected via application of any one of various unique control gestures (200, 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, 260) to configure the electronic device (100). Based on the selected mode or function of the device (100), the trigger icon (175) may alter its appearance to facilitate use of the device (100). The operation and functionality of the trigger icon (175) may be programmed to customize operation of the device (100).

BACKGROUND

The field of the disclosure relates generally to systems and methods forcapturing and reading data using an electronic device. Moreparticularly, the field of the disclosure relates to such electronicdevices having a touch screen interface for enabling and configuringvarious modes and functions of the electronic device, such as readingoptical codes, processing RFID tags, capturing videos and images, andaccessing and using other features of the electronic device.

Optical reading systems are widely used to read data in the form ofoptical codes or other encoded symbols printed on various objects. Thesesystems may be used in a wide variety of applications, such as inventorycontrol and point-of-sale transactions in retail stores. Barcodes arejust one example of the many types of optical codes in use today. Themost common barcodes are one-dimensional or linear optical codes, wherethe information is encoded in one direction—the direction perpendicularto the bars and spaces. For example, one-dimensional (1D) barcodesymbologies may include Code 128, Code 29, Interleaved 2 of 5, matrix 2of 5, Universal Product Code (UPC), Extended Code 39, Code 93, UCC 128,Codabar, EAN/JAN, MSI, Zip+4, Pharmacode 39, RSS, Standard 2 of 5,Trioptic, DPBC POSTNET. Higher-dimensional optical codes, such as,two-dimensional matrix codes (e.g., MaxiCode) or stacked codes (e.g.,PDF 417), which are also sometimes referred to as “two-dimensionalbarcodes,” are also used for various purposes. Based on the type ofbarcode label that is being used, an appropriate set of decodingparameters is used to accurately read and process the data.

Typically, a one-dimensional barcode label comprises a series ofparallel dark bars of varying widths with intervening light spaces, alsoof varying widths. The information encoded in the barcode label isrepresented by the specific sequence of bar and space widths. Opticalreading systems may employ an optical reader that illuminates thebarcode label and detects light reflected from the bars and spaces ofthe code. One common optical reader is a flying spot scanner in which asource of illumination, such as a laser or LED, is moved across thebarcode while a photodetector in the optical reader monitors thereflected or backscattered light. After the barcode data is received bythe optical reader, the optical reader may decode the barcode data andstore it or transmit it to another device for storage.

Another type of data reader is an imaging reader such as a CCD (chargecoupled device) or CMOS (complimentary metal oxide semiconductor) inwhich an entire line of the barcode image or a two-dimensional image ofa scan region is focused onto a detector array. The imaging readertypically includes a light source to illuminate the barcode to providethe required signal response. Once the signal has been received for theentire read region, it may be processed and decoded.

Yet another type of data reader does not use optical barcodes, butinstead reads electronic tags using radio waves, such as aradio-frequency identification (RFID) reader. An RFID system typicallyemploys at least two components, a “transponder” or “tag” which isattached to a physical item to be identified, and a “reader” which sendsan electromagnetic signal to the transponder and then detects aresponse. Typically, the reader emits an RF signal, which is received bythe transponder, after the transponder comes within an appropriaterange. In response, the transponder then sends its information via amodulated RF signal back to the reader. The reader detects thismodulated signal, and can identify the transponder by decoding themodulated signal. After identifying the transponder, the reader caneither store the decoded information or transmit the decoded signal to acomputer or other device.

Currently, data reading and other electronic devices with multiplereading modes and action functions are available, where the devices arecapable of capturing and decoding optical barcode labels and RFID tags,and may also have other suitable functions, such as capturing images orvideos, providing a screen to capture signatures, and/or enabling voiceor texting options. Such electronic devices may be useful in anenvironment where objects may contain mixed barcode symbology and RFIDtags, such as in a retail store or packaging facility, or where there isa need for a multi-purpose electronic device that may also captureimages or videos, or provide features for enabling phone calls or otherfunctions.

Typically, such electronic devices include a physical trigger buttonarranged on the housing of the device to activate some device functions,and also include separate individual buttons or selectable icons forenabling and activating other functions of the electronic device. Thepresent inventor has recognized certain disadvantages of such electronicdevices. For example, providing a physical button or trigger on a touchscreen electronic device tends to restrict the easy handheld use of thedevice and/or requires the device to be used in a specific orientation.In addition, a physical trigger button adds to the bulk and size of thedevice.

Accordingly, the present inventors have recognized a need for amulti-purpose electronic device that allows a user to easily toggle andenable between various data capture modes without a physical triggerbutton. In addition, the present inventors have recognized a need forsuch a device with a single trigger to enable and activate variousdifferent features and functions of the electronic device (in additionto data reading) to maintain an overall streamlined design. Finally, thepresent inventors have also recognized a need for such an electronicdevice with an improved display interface that simplifies data capturingtransactions and provides details of a data capture transaction, such asan indication of whether the transaction was successful, a presentationof the information gathered during the transaction, and a display ofalerts or issues with the transaction to help troubleshoot potentialproblems.

Additional aspects and advantages of these and other embodiments will beapparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds withreference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that thedrawings depict only certain example embodiments and are not to beconsidered as limiting in nature.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a portable electronic device with a touchscreen display, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates a portable electronic device with a floating triggericon overlaying information on the touch screen display, according toone embodiment.

FIG. 3 is the portable electronic device of FIG. 2 illustrating thefloating trigger icon on a different region of the touch screen displaywhen the device is rotated.

FIG. 4 is an example embodiment of a portable electronic device with thefloating trigger icon parked in a status bar of the touch screendisplay.

FIG. 5 is a chart illustrating example control gestures that may beapplied to configure the portable electronic device of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 illustrates another example control gesture that may be appliedto move the floating trigger icon according to one embodiment.

FIG. 7 illustrates a video capture mode of the portable electronicdevice, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 8 illustrates a data capture mode of the portable electronicdevice, according to another embodiment.

FIG. 9 illustrates a virtual joystick mode of the portable electronicdevice, according to another embodiment.

FIGS. 10 and 11 collectively illustrate a data input mode of theportable electronic device, according to another embodiment.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example interface menu of the portable electronicdevice, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart illustrating a method for capturing data withthe portable electronic device, according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 14 and 15 are flow charts illustrating example methods forconfiguring and customizing the portable electronic device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to the drawings, this section describes particularembodiments and their detailed construction and operation. Theembodiments described herein are set forth by way of illustration onlyand not limitation. The described features, structures, characteristics,and methods of operation may be combined in any suitable manner in oneor more embodiments. In view of the disclosure herein, those skilled inthe art will recognize that the various embodiments can be practicedwithout one or more of the specific details or with other methods,components, materials, or the like. For the sake of clarity andconciseness, certain aspects of components or steps of certainembodiments are presented without undue detail where such detail wouldbe apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the teachings hereinand/or where such detail would obfuscate an understanding of morepertinent aspects of the embodiments.

Certain embodiments may be capable of achieving various advantages,including one or more of the following: (1) providing a portableelectronic device with touch screen, motion-sensing, and/or togglingcapabilities for quickly and easily activating various reader modesbased on the barcode symbology or presence of RFID tags in an object,and for activating various other functions of the portable electronicdevice; (2) providing a programmable portable electronic device capableof detecting and responding to a variety of programmed control gesturesfor toggling between various reading modes and configuration settings ofthe device; (3) providing a portable electronic device with an easilyaccessible and multi-functional activation trigger; and (4) providing aportable electronic device with a programmable and customizablemulti-functional activation trigger.

In the following description of the figures and any example embodiments,the system may be referred to in conjunction with use at a retailestablishment. It should be understood that such use is merely oneexample use for such a system. Other uses for a system with thecharacteristics and features described herein may be implemented, forexample, in an industrial location such as a parcel distribution (e.g.,postal) station or for processing inventory, as well as other suitableuses. In addition, certain embodiments may refer to the portableelectronic device as a data reader operable for capturing barcodes orRFID data from items. It should be understood that this is merely oneexample embodiment and use of a portable electronic device with thefeatures and functionalities described herein. In other embodiments, theportable electronic device may be used for other purposes, such as forrecording and processing videos or images, for handling and processinginsurance claims, documenting and handling service and repair issues,and other suitable uses. Accordingly, while the embodiments mayreference use of the electronic device for data reading, this embodimentis merely one example used for convenience purposes only and not meantto be limiting.

Collectively, FIGS. 1-15 illustrate various embodiments of a portableelectronic device 100 that may be used to perform a variety offunctions, such as read and process an optical label or RFID tag on anitem during a checkout process, such as at a retail store orsupermarket. In other embodiments, the portable electronic device 100may be used for other functions, such as to capture videos or otherdata, receive and store inventory information, and/or use as a virtualjoystick for a variety of applications.

With general reference to the figures, the portable electronic device100 includes a touch screen 112 that may display information 150thereon, such as application icons, images, text, or other suitableinformation. Along with the information 150, the touch screen 112further displays a floating trigger icon 175. In some embodiments, thefloating trigger icon 175 may overlay at least a portion of theinformation 150 on the touch screen 112, or may be positioned in afree-space of the touch screen 112 (e.g., a region where no information150 is displayed). As is further described in detail below, the floatingtrigger icon 175 may be selected by a user to configure an action, suchas a data reading mode, of the electronic device 100. To select aparticular action or function, the operator or user may apply any one ofa variety of unique control gestures 200 onto the touch screen 112 at alocation of the touch screen 112 where the trigger icon 175 isdisplayed. Once the control gesture is applied to the floating triggericon 175 and detected by the electronic device 100, the device 100 isconfigured to allow the operator to perform the selected action.

For example, in one embodiment, the operator may apply a control gesture200, such as a swipe in a particular direction, a press and hold, asingle or double tap (see FIG. 5) onto the trigger icon 175 to configureor set a data reader mode of the electronic device 100 for a particularlabel or tag type, such as a one-dimensional barcode, two-dimensionalbarcode, or RFID tag. Once the control gesture has been received andprocessed by the electronic device 100, the device 100 configures anappropriate reading engine 102 in accordance with the chosen reader modeso that the device 100 may be used to properly capture the target data.Once the item has been processed, the user may thereafter reconfigurethe device 100 to a different reader mode, if necessary, by applying adifferent control gesture to the trigger icon 175. Alternatively,additional control gestures may be applied to the trigger icon 175 totrigger or configure other functions of the electronic device 100 asdesired. For example, after the data has been captured, a differentcontrol gesture may be applied to the trigger icon 175 to load and usesoftware applications for reviewing and/or processing the captured data.Additional details of these and other embodiments of the electronicdevice 100 are described herein with reference to the figures.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of the portable electronic device100, such as a barcode reader, RFID reader, industrial Portable DataTerminal, mobile phone, tablet, or a multi-mode data reader (amulti-mode data reader being capable of reading optical codes, RFIDtags, and other data types), according to one embodiment. With referenceto FIG. 1, the electronic device 100 includes a housing 101 suitable forprotecting components (as discussed in detail below) of the electronicdevice 100 therein and for supporting additional components, such as akeyboard 108 and a touch screen display 112, on an exterior surface ofthe housing 101. The housing 101 is preferably compact and suited forportability and hand-held operation of the electronic device 100.

The portable electronic device 100 includes one or more reading engines102, such as an optical label (or barcode) scanning engine, an RFIDreading engine, or a multi-mode data reader capable of readingboth/multiple data types. The reading engine 102 may read barcodesymbols from a physical object, capture information from an RFID tag,and process captured images or other data. In some example embodiments,the reading engine 102 may include a laser barcode scan engine availablefrom Datalogic ADC, Inc. or other manufacturers. In other embodiments,the reading engine 102 may include an RFID reading engine available fromDatalogic ADC, Inc., or other manufacturers. As used herein, readingengines 102 may also encompass laser scanners, imaging scanners (such asCMOS or CCD-based imagers), cameras, and/or image sensors.

The portable data reader 100 may include a processing unit 104. Theprocessing unit 104 may be any of various suitable commerciallyavailable processors or other logic machine capable of executinginstructions. In other embodiments, suitable dual microprocessors orother multi-processor architectures may also be employed as theprocessing unit 104.

A standard input controller 106 may be provided to receive user inputfrom a keyboard/keypad 108, a stylus or other pointing device (notshown), or other wired/wireless input devices. The input controller 106may comprise a universal interface driver application specificintegrated circuit (UIDA) or other suitable circuits. In someembodiments, other input devices 107 may be included, such as amicrophone, digital camera, fingerprint scanner, touchpad, trackball,and tablet. While the input devices 107 may be integrated into theportable electronic device 100 and coupled to the processing unit 104via the input controller 106, the input devices 107 may also connect viaother interfaces, such as one or more connector(s) 109. The connector109 may include one or more data interfaces, bus interfaces, wired orwireless network adapters, or modems for transmitting and receivingdata. Accordingly, the input controller 106 may include one or more ofhardware, software, and firmware to implement one or more protocols,such as stacked protocols along with corresponding layers, such as forexample application layers (e.g., HTTP), transport layers (e.g., TCP),network layers (e.g., IP), and link layers (e.g., Ethernet). Accordingto one embodiment, the connector 109 functions as a serial port (e.g.,RS232). However, the connector 109 may also support other interfaces,such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, an Ethernet port, a parallelport, an IEEE 1394 serial port, or an IR interface. The input controller106 may also support various wired, wireless, optical, and othercommunication standards.

The portable electronic device 100 may present data, prompts, andotherwise communicate with a user via one or more touch screen displaydevices 112, such as an integrated liquid crystal display (LCD), anorganic light-emitting diode (OLED), or other suitable display withtouch screen capabilities. The touch screen 112 may include one or moresensors (not shown) for detecting a user's touch via a finger, stylus,or other device. A display controller 110 may drive the display device112 and control its features.

In some embodiments, the portable electronic device 100 may furtherinclude a tilt sensor or accelerometer 142 in communication with theprocessing unit 104 and configured to detect whether the portableelectronic device 100 has been rotated, tilted, or shaken. In someembodiments, the tilt sensor 142 may be in communication with orelectronically coupled to the display controller 110 such that when thetilt sensor 142 is activated (e.g., the electronic device 100 isrotated), the display controller 110 triggers a message to display onthe touch screen display 112 notifying the user that the tilt sensor 142has been activated.

The portable electronic device 100 may also include a network interface114 to communicate with one or more other devices, such as a server, ahost computer, or a point-of-sale terminal via an external network (notshown). For example, data gathered by, or decoded by, the portableelectronic device 100 may be passed along to a server. The networkinterface 114 may facilitate wired or wireless communication with otherdevices over a short distance (e.g., Bluetooth™) or nearly unlimiteddistances (e.g., the Internet). In the case of a wired connection, adata bus may be provided using any protocol, such as IEEE 802.3(Ethernet), advanced technology attachment (ATA), personal computermemory card international association (PCMCIA), and USB. A wirelessconnection may use low or high powered electromagnetic waves to transmitdata using any wireless protocol, such as Bluetooth™, IEEE 802.11b (orother WiFi standards), infrared data association (IrDa), and radiofrequency identification (RFID). In addition, a modem module (not shown)or Ethernet module (not shown) may be coupled to the connector 109 tofacilitate a WAN networking environment.

The portable electronic device 100 further includes a memory 116, whichmay be implemented using one or more standard memory devices. The memorydevices may include, for instance, RAM 118, ROM 120, and EEPROM devices,and may also include magnetic or optical storage devices, such as harddisk drives, CD-ROM drives, and DVD-ROM drives. The portable electronicdevice 100 may also include an interface 122 coupled to an internal harddrive 124. Interface 122 may also be coupled to removable memory, suchas flash memory, a magnetic floppy disk drive, an optical disk drive, oranother drive. Further, the interface 122 (and/or input controller 106)may be configured for external drive implementations, such as over aUSB, IEEE 1194, or PCMCIA connection.

In one embodiment, any number of program modules may be stored in one ormore drives 124 and RAM 118, including an operating system 126, one ormore application programs 128, other program modules 130 (such asinstructions to implement the methods described herein and/or associatespecific control gestures with specific functions and/or applications),data 132, file system 134, settings 136, and read data 138. All orportions of the program modules may also be cached in RAM 118. Anysuitable operating system 126 may be employed, such as Windows EmbeddedCE, Windows Embedded Handheld, Windows Desktop, Android, Linux, iOS,MacOS, or other commercially available or proprietary operating systemscapable of supporting a touch screen interface.

The memory 116, the internal hard drive 124, or both, may also store anumber of settings 136 for the portable electronic device 100, which mayinclude various symbology settings, device settings (e.g.,user-interface), and network settings. Additionally, the memory 116, theinternal hard drive 124, or both, may store read data 138 (e.g., symbolsand information read from barcodes and RFID tags) obtained by thereading engine 102, images captured using the electronic device 100, orother data. Any of the foregoing may be stored within, or indexed by, afile system 134, which may be managed by the operating system 126.

The above-described components, including the reading engine 102,processing unit 104, input controller 106, display controller 110,network interface 114, memory 116, and interface 122, may beinterconnected via a bus 140. While a bus-based architecture isillustrated in FIG. 1, other types of architectures are also suitable(e.g., one or more components may be directly coupled to one another).While the illustrated embodiment depicts one possible configuration of aportable electronic device 100, it should be recognized that a widevariety of hardware and software configurations may be provided. Forexample, other versions of the portable electronic device 100 may havefewer than all of these components or may contain additional components.

FIGS. 2-15 collectively illustrate various example embodiments and usesof the electronic device 100. With reference to the figures, thefollowing sections discuss additional features and functions of theelectronic device 100, and its example use as a multi-mode data readingdevice. In certain example embodiments, the following disclosure mayassociate specific control gestures with certain reading modes or otherfunctionalities of the electronic device 100. It should be understoodthat the selected pairing of control gesture(s) and features of thedevice 100 are for example purposes only and not meant to limit thescope of the disclosure. As further described in detail below, thecontrol gestures and functions of the device 100 may be programmed in avariety of configurations as desired by a specific operator.

With particular reference to FIG. 2, the electronic device 100 includesa touch screen 112 that displays information 150 thereon, such asapplication icons, images, text, or other suitable information. Alongwith the information 150, the touch screen 112 also displays a floatingtrigger icon 175. As is described in further detail below, a position ofthe floating trigger icon 175 may be selected by the user, and/or may beautomatically determined by the electronic device 100 in accordance withprogrammed instructions. Preferably, the floating trigger icon 175overlays at least a portion of the information 150 on the touch screen112, so that the trigger icon 175 is always “on top” of the information150 on the touch screen 112.

For example, in one embodiment, the floating trigger icon 175 may bepositioned at a free-space or free region of the touch screen 112 (i.e.,a region where no information 150 is displayed) or at a minimal-use”region (not shown) of the touch screen 112 (i.e., a region which is mostfree of other information 150). In such embodiments, the displaycontroller 110 (or other system of the electronic device 100) mayevaluate the pixel usage of the touch screen 112 based on theinformation 150 displayed thereon. Based on the pixel usage, the displaycontroller 110 determines a home region 180 (e.g., the region with thesmallest pixel usage) on the touch screen 112 for displaying thefloating trigger icon 175. Once the home region 180 is determined, thedisplay controller 110 displays the floating trigger icon 175 at or nearthe home region 180 to maintain the floating trigger icon 175 at aposition where it is easily accessible and quickly discernible by theoperator. The display controller 110 may periodically reevaluate thepixel usage of the touch screen 112 and reposition the floating triggericon 175 automatically in response to changes in the position of theinformation 150. In some embodiments, after the display controller 110has determined the home region 180, the operator may lock the floatingtrigger icon 175 at that position if it is a desirable position for theuser (e.g., the position is easy to locate, the trigger icon is clearlyvisible, distinguishable from other information 150 on the screen 112,and comfortable to access).

In still other embodiments, the floating trigger icon 175 may beautomatically positioned on the screen 112 based on the selectedfunction or reading mode of the portable electronic device 100. Forexample, when the electronic device 100 is in a data reading mode (e.g.,barcode reading or RFID reading), the floating trigger icon 175 may beautomatically positioned at a location that is most convenient andintuitive to the user, such as located at the bottom center, bottomleft, or bottom right of the screen 112, or other location that is easyto access while holding the device or easy to find on a screen that maybe crowded with other information 150. Alternatively, the operator mayprogram the display controller 110 (or other program of the electronicdevice 100) to automatically position the floating trigger icon 175 atany desired location on the touch screen 112 for a selected reader modeor function of the portable electronic device 100 so that the floatingtrigger icon 175 is easy to access and activate for the operator.

In yet other embodiments, the display controller 110 may be incommunication with the accelerometer 142. In such embodiments, when thedevice 100 is tilted or rotated, the accelerometer 142 may send a signalto the display controller 110. Upon receiving the signal, the displaycontroller 110 may automatically reposition the floating trigger icon175 on the touch screen 112 to a corresponding position. For example,with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, when the electronic device 100 is in aportrait setting (FIG. 2), the trigger icon 175 may be positioned at theupper center portion of the screen 112. When the accelerometer 142detects that the device 100 has been rotated to a landscape setting(FIG. 3), the display controller 110 may automatically reposition thetrigger icon 175 on a corresponding upper center portion of the screen112. In some embodiments, the display controller 110 may or may notreposition the information 150 on the screen 112. Regardless of theorientation of the screen 112, the trigger icon 175 preferably remainsoverlaid on the underlying information 150.

In still other embodiments, the operator may program the displaycontroller 110 or other controller of the electronic device 100 to setdefault location preferences for the soft trigger 175. In addition, theoperator may program the electronic device 100 to select the manner inwhich the soft trigger re-positions itself. For example, the operatorcan set instructions regarding automatically repositioning the softtrigger 175 based on pixel count/usage, based on tilting or rotating thedevice 100, and/or based on the reading mode or function that iscurrently active on the device 100. Alternatively, the operator can setinstructions to lock the display position of the soft trigger 175, suchas by disregarding rotation of the device 100 (e.g., rotation of thedevice 100 does not alter the position of the soft trigger 175).

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the trigger icon 175 may be transparentor semi-transparent so that it partially obscures the desktop orinterface display of the touch screen 112 to allow the operator to viewthe underlying information 150 to facilitate operation of the device100. In other embodiments, the trigger icon 175 may instead be solid sothat it obscures most (or all) of the underlying information 150. Theappearance of the trigger icon 175 may take any one of a variety ofsuitable shapes, such as a circle, a dot, a pointer, a star, or othershape selected/programmed by the user. Preferably, the trigger icon 175is of a shape and color that stands out against the desktop or interfacedisplay of the touch screen 112 so that it is easily identifiable andaccessible by the operator. In some embodiments, the appearance and/orcolor of the trigger icon 175 may change as the information 150 on thetouch screen 112 changes so that the trigger icon 175 appears as thedominant feature on the touch screen 112. For example, the displaycontroller 112 may determine a color and/or appearance of the triggericon 175 based on the primary color(s) and/or appearance(s) of theinformation 150 displayed on the screen 112. If the information 150 isprimarily displayed in brighter colors, the display controller 112 mayselect a darker color for the trigger icon 175 or vice versa. In otherembodiments, the display controller 112 may limit or restrict thecolor(s) and/or appearance(s) of the icons and other information 150 onthe screen 112 to carve out specific colors/appearances for the triggericon 175.

As mentioned previously, the floating trigger icon 175 preferablyoverlays the information 150 displayed on the touch screen 112. In someembodiments, the trigger icon 175 may be hidden, shrunk, enlarged,and/or moved to expose the underlying icons or other information 150 onthe touch screen 112 to allow the user to perform other actions usingthe electronic device 100. To manipulate the trigger icon 175, theoperator may apply any one of a plurality of unique control gestures(see examples illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6). For example, the triggericon 175 may be enlarged or shrunk on the display screen 112 by applyinga two-finger gesture 230 and sliding the fingers apart (to enlarge) orsliding the fingers closer together (to shrink) the size of the triggericon 175.

In another embodiment, a different control gesture 250 may be used tohide the floating trigger icon 175 underneath the information 150 on thedisplay screen 112 of the electronic device 100. For example, withreference to FIG. 6, the user may place a hand on the display screen 112and make a sweeping gesture from right-to-left (or toward any otherdirection on the touch screen 112) to hide/park the floating triggericon 175 underneath the information 150. In such configuration, theoperator may more easily access the icons or other information 150 onthe display screen 112. The operator may thereafter apply a differentunique control gesture to reactivate and reposition the trigger icon 175over the information 150. For example, the operator may apply thetouch-and-hold control gesture 210 (or any other suitable gesture).

In other embodiments, the trigger icon 175 may be selected and moved byapplying a different unique control gesture 200 onto the touch screen112 at a location where the trigger icon 175 is displayed. For example,with reference to FIG. 5, the operator may double tap the trigger icon175 to hide the icon 175 or move the trigger icon 175 to a status bar ordocking area 185 (see FIG. 4).

In other embodiments, the trigger icon 175 may also be selected andmoved from a first region on the touch screen 112 at which the triggericon 175 is displayed to a different second region of the touch screen112. In one example operation, the trigger icon 175 may be selected byapplying a first control gesture 210 (e.g., a touch and hold), and thendragged on the touch screen 112 to the second region by applying asecond control gesture 220 (e.g., a drag motion). These control gestures200 may be performed to move the trigger icon 175 to a differentlocation such as to allow unrestricted access to the underlyinginformation 150, or to reposition the trigger icon 175 to a moredesirable location to facilitate operability of the electronic device100. For example, the trigger icon 175 may be moved away from a dataentry zone on the touch screen 112 to allow the user to enter data intothe electronic device 100. Once the data has been entered, the user mayagain select the trigger icon 175 and reposition it. As another example,the trigger icon 175 may be moved to the status bar 185 during a videocapture mode to allow the operator to view the video on a full screen112.

Preferably, the selected position of the trigger icon 175 remains lockedon the display 112 until the user applies another control gesture 200 toselect and move the trigger icon 175. For example, if the trigger icon175 is minimized or hidden during use of the electronic device 100, thetrigger icon 175 is returned to its position before it was minimized orhidden when the user against selects the trigger icon 175. Similarly,when the device 100 is powered off and powered on again, the triggericon 175 will remain unchanged.

As described previously, the trigger icon 175 also provides an accesspoint for allowing the operator to configure various modes and featuresof the electronic device 100. The following section describes an exampleoperation of the electronic device 100 used in a data readingenvironment to capture barcodes, RFID tags, or other data. It should beunderstood that data reading functions are only one example use for theelectronic device 100 with the features and characteristics describedherein.

With particular reference to FIGS. 2 and 5, the floating trigger icon175 may be selected by a user to configure an action (such as aparticular data reading mode, a video capture mode, a data entry mode,and/or a virtual joystick mode) of the electronic device 100. Toconfigure a particular reading mode for the electronic device 100, theoperator may apply any one of a variety of unique control gestures 200(e.g., a unique pattern, a swipe in a particular direction, a press andhold, a single or double tap) onto the floating trigger icon 175. Withreference to FIG. 5, the control gestures 200 may include any gesture,such as a single or multi-touch gesture, or any of a variety of uniquepatterns 240. For example, the operator may press and hold the floatingtrigger icon 175 and perform a single finger motion on the touch screendisplay 112 in the shape of the letter “R” to configure the electronicdevice 100 in an RFID reader mode. Similarly, the operator may move thefloating trigger icon 175 in the shape of a “D” or an “S” to configurethe electronic device 100 in a barcode scanner mode.

Once the control gesture has been received and processed by theelectronic device 100, the device 100 configures the reading engine 102in accordance with the chosen reader mode so that the device 100 may beused to properly capture the target data. In other embodiments, theoperator may instead select the data reading mode using the keyboard 108or other physical buttons, prompts, or other features of the electronicdevice 100.

Once the data reading mode has been selected and the electronic device100 configured with the appropriate reading engine 102, the color and/ordigital appearance of the floating trigger icon 175 may be altered tovisually indicate the selected data reader mode (or other function) tothe operator. For example, the floating trigger icon 175 may be a firstcolor when a barcode reading mode is selected, and a second color whenan RFID reading mode is selected. Alternatively, or in addition, thefloating trigger icon 175 may alter color and/or appearance to indicateto the user that the floating trigger icon 175 may be used as a triggerto initiate the scan or reading event.

In some embodiments, the trigger icon 175 may be altered with a label orimage icon that indicates the selected data reader mode or function. Forexample, when the electronic device 100 has been configured with abarcode reading engine, the soft trigger icon 175 may include the text“BARCODE” or “SCAN” displayed therewith, such as in a central portion ofthe displayed trigger icon 175. In other embodiments, a barcode labelmay be displayed on or with the soft trigger icon 175 to visuallyindicate to the operator that the barcode reading mode is currentlyenabled.

To operate the electronic device 100, the operator may point the device100 at a target item and touch the trigger icon 175 on the screen 112 toinitiate the scan. Once the reading event has been completed, thetrigger icon 175 may alter color and/or appearance to indicate theresults of the reading event. For example, the trigger icon 175 may turngreen to indicate a successful scan or a “good read,” or turn red toindicate an unsuccessful scan or a “bad read.” Accordingly, the operatorneed only consult the color of the trigger icon 175 to determine whetherthe item was properly processed, which may be helpful in areas wheresound from the device 100 may not be difficult to hear, such as in loudstores or warehouses.

In some embodiments, the floating trigger icon 175 may also be usedduring a scanning event to report issues that may arise. For example,when the device 100 is in a reader mode, the operator may change thefunctionality of the trigger icon 175 by applying a unique controlgesture to the floating trigger icon 175 to activate a push-to-talkfunction or phone call function of the electronic device 100. Onceactivated, the operator may select the trigger icon 175 to place thecall or use the device 100 to communicate with another party.

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate two other example embodiments of the electronicdevice 100. With reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, the electronic device 100includes the floating trigger icon 175 that may change appearance/colorto correspond with the mode and/or selected program of the electronicdevice 100. FIG. 7 illustrates another embodiment of the electronicdevice 100 used to capture video or images. FIG. 8 illustrates oneembodiment in which the electronic device 100 is used to capturetransaction data, such as from scanning an event ticket.

With reference to FIG. 7, the trigger icon 175 may be selected to enablea video capture mode of the electronic device 100. As the device 100 iscapturing video, the trigger icon 175 is displayed on the touch screen112 to allow the operator to perform various functions. For example, theoperator may apply various control gestures 200 to the trigger icon 175to continue taking video, to stop the video, or to operate variousplayback features. If the user determines that the trigger icon 175 isobstructing the field of view, the user may select and move the triggericon 175 at any time (e.g., while the video is recording) to any regionon the screen 112 to customize the field of view in a similar fashion asdescribed previously. For example, in the illustrated example of FIG. 7,the user may select and move the trigger icon 175 to the lower portionof the screen 112 to avoid obscuring the shot. In other embodiments, thedisplay controller 110 may automatically alter the appearance, size,and/or location of the trigger icon 175 to minimize its impact on thefield of view.

For example, when the device 100 is in video capture mode, the displaycontroller 110 may automatically scale down the size of the trigger icon175 so as to minimize the screen space of the trigger icon 175. In otherembodiments, the display controller 110 may automatically move thetrigger icon 175 to the status bar 185 or otherwise hide the triggericon 175. To recall the trigger icon 175 on the screen 112, the user mayapply a control gesture 200 (e.g., a double tap) on the screen 112 sothat the trigger icon 175 returns to the last position at which it wasdisplayed.

With particular reference to FIG. 8, the electronic device 100 includesthe touch screen 112 displaying transaction data 225, a physical keypad108 for entering or manipulating the data 225, and the floating triggericon 175 for operating various functions of the device 100. In anexample operation, the operator uses the electronic device 100 to scan acustomer's ticket, such as for an event. To activate the scan, theoperator may select and press the trigger icon 175 displayed on thetouch screen 112. Once the scan is completed, the display 112 shows theresults of scan, e.g., the transaction data 225, to the operator.

In some embodiments, the display controller 110 may alter the appearanceand/or color of the trigger icon 175 to indicate whether the scan was agood read (e.g., the tickets are for the correct date and time) or a badread (e.g., the tickets are for a different event). For example, asmentioned previously, the trigger icon 175 may turn green to indicate agood read, or turn red to indicate a bad read. In the event of a badread, the trigger icon 175 may alter its appearance to alert theoperator of the bad read and provide a prompt to allow the operator toaccess more information about the bad read. For example, the triggericon 175 may change into an exclamation point icon, which the operatormay select by applying a control gesture to obtain further informationabout the reason for the bad read. For example, the electronic device100 may determine that the event tickets were for a different time orevent date. Thereafter, the operator may apply a different controlgesture to the trigger icon 175 to activate a push-to-talk feature orphone call feature of the electronic device 100 to follow up on theissue with a supervisor or other authority figure, if desired.

In still other embodiments, the trigger icon 175 may also be used forother features and functions of the electronic device 100. For example,in some embodiments, the trigger icon 175 may be used to activate datatransferring features of the electronic device 100, such as printing,emailing, or otherwise transmit data from the trigger icon 175 toanother computer or device. In other embodiments, the trigger icon 175may also function as a battery status indicator of the electronic device100. For example, the trigger icon 175 may be green when the batterylife of the electronic device 100 is full. As the battery drains duringuse of the electronic device 100, the trigger icon 175 may change toorange, and then to red to indicate that the battery life is low and theelectronic device 100 needs to be charged. Alternately, or in addition,the trigger icon 175 may also change shape intermittently to indicatebattery status. For example, the trigger icon 175 may change to aflashing battery icon for a few seconds to indicate that battery is low.

In other embodiments, the trigger icon 175 may be capable of configuringthe electronic device 100 into a fingerprint mode by application of aunique control gesture to the floating trigger icon 175. For example, aunique control gesture, such as a circular movement on the trigger icon175, may alter the shape and size of the trigger icon 175 to become awide input area having the appearance of a fingerprint to indicate tothe user that a fingerprint may be captured using the electronic device100. To capture the fingerprint, the operator or other person places afinger on the touch screen 112 at a position where the trigger icon 175is located. In response to a user or other person touching the triggericon 175, the electronic device 100 captures the fingerprint of theuser. The fingerprint mode may also serve as a biometriclocking/unlocking function of the electronic device 100.

In other embodiments, the electronic device 100 may be able to detectwhich finger is being used by the operator on the trigger icon 175. Forexample, the electronic device 100 may be able to distinguish betweenthe use of a thumb, an index finger, or a ring finger. In suchembodiments, the electronic device 100 may be enabled or configured tooperate in different functions/reader modes based on the finger that isdetected by the electronic device 100. For example, if the index fingeris detected on the soft trigger 175, the electronic device 100 may beconfigured in a data reading or scan mode. If the thumb is detected onthe soft trigger 175, the electronic device 100 may be configured toplace a phone call. In a similar fashion as discussed in previousexamples, the operator may be able to program different unique functionsassociated with different fingers detected on the soft trigger 175 toenable specific functions/modes of the device 100.

FIG. 9 illustrates another embodiment of the device 100 where theoperator may apply a control gesture 260 to enable the trigger icon 175to serve as a virtual joystick 300 overlaid on the screen 112 to enablemultiple actions of the electronic device 100 at once for particularoperating modes. In some embodiment, the virtual joystick 300 may beuseful for shopping, inventory, price-checking, capturing sales on thespot, or other suitable applications. With reference to FIG. 9, theelectronic device 100 includes the trigger icon 175 overlaying theinformation 150 on the screen 112 in a similar arrangement as describedpreviously. Upon application of a unique control gesture 260(illustrated as a semi-circle applied in a clock-wise motion to thetouch screen 112 adjacent to or on the trigger icon 175), the virtualjoystick 300 may be enabled. In some embodiments, when the virtualjoystick 300 is enabled, the information 150 on the screen 112 maydisappear or become hidden so that the screen 112 displays only thevirtual joystick 300 and its features. In other embodiments, theinformation 150 may instead become transparent, minimized on the screen,moved to a docking area, or otherwise handled so that it does notobscure the use of the virtual joystick 300. Preferably, the triggericon 175 remains displayed on the screen 112 (e.g., displayed in acenter portion of the virtual joystick 300) so that the user may be ableto toggle back to the desktop or home screen by applying a differentcontrol gesture.

With reference to FIG. 9, in some embodiments, the virtual joystick 300may include an add button 310 for adding items (e.g., adding an item toa user's shopping cart or to an inventory list), a delete button 320 fordeleting items, a TOT symbol 330 for obtaining an aggregate or totalcost of the purchase, a phone symbol 340 for allowing the operator toplace a phone call if necessary (such as to follow up on an item with amanager). The virtual joystick 300 may also include virtual indicatorLEDs 350 that may display different colors to indicate the results of ascanning transaction (e.g., green for a successful read and red for anunsuccessful read). The virtual joystick 300 may include a virtualkeyboard 360 for keying or entering data or other information into theelectronic device 100.

In other embodiments, the virtual joystick 300 may include additionalkeys 370 that may be programmed by the operator to tailor the virtualjoystick 300 to satisfy specific or individual needs. It should beunderstood that the features of the virtual trigger 300 illustrated inFIG. 9 are only meant to provide an example embodiment. In otherembodiments, the virtual trigger 300 may include different featuresand/or may be programmable to suit the specific needs of the operator.

In other embodiments, the virtual joystick 300 may instead be used totoggle between particular data reading actions when the electronicdevice 100 is operating in data reading mode. For example, the user mayswipe left on the virtual joystick to enable a barcode reading mode ofthe electronic device 100, swipe right to enable a signature capturemode, swipe up to initiate a push-to-talk feature of the electronicdevice 100, and/or swipe down to make a phone call using the electronicdevice 100. It should be understood that the device 100 may beprogrammed so that in other embodiments, these (or other) controlgestures enable different functions of the electronic device 100 asselected by the individual users. In some embodiments, the virtualjoystick may be configured as a virtual keypad or cockpit that may popup on the screen 112 when other applications or programs of theelectronic device 100 are not running, and the barcode reading mode ofthe electronic device 100 is being used. The virtual keypad may be usedto enter additional item data or other information related to thebarcode scanning process. To facilitate use, the virtual joystick/keypadmay be expanded to the screen size of the electronic device 100 byapplying a control gesture.

FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate another embodiment of the device 100 wherethe operator may apply a control gesture (not shown, but which may beany of the control gestures illustrated in FIG. 5) on the screen 112 toselect the trigger icon 175 and configure a data input mode 400 of thedevice 100. In some embodiments, the data input mode 400 may be usefulfor tracking items, such as for inventory purposes, for updating itemdatabases or tables, or for other suitable applications.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example interface displayed on the screen 112when the portable electronic device 100 is in a data input mode 400.With reference to FIG. 10, the screen 112 displays the trigger icon 175overlaying a variety of input/data entry fields 405, 410, 415, 420. In asimilar manner as described in previous embodiments, the trigger icon175 may be transparent so as to avoid obscuring the data fields 405,410, 415, 420 from the operator's view. In some embodiments, the datafields displayed on the screen 112 may include: (1) a location field 405for inputting information relating to a location of a product, such as ashelf code, a store code, or other location identifier; (2) an SKU field410 for inputting SKU data of the particular product fortracking/inventory purposes; (3) a quantity field 415 for inputting itemquantities; and (4) a description field 420 that may be used to providea brief description or other information about the product. It should beunderstood that the described data fields may be typical of certainembodiments, but other embodiments may include more, fewer, and/ordifferent data fields as desired by the operator. As further describedin detail below, the data fields that appear on the screen 112 for anindividual operator may be programmed to suit the particular needs ofthe individual operator.

With reference to FIGS. 10 and 11, the following describes an examplemethod/process for activating and using the data input mode 400 of theportable electronic device 100. To initiate data input mode 400, theoperator may first activate the data reading mode of the device 100,such as by applying a control gesture to the trigger icon 175 in asimilar fashion as described previously with reference to theembodiments of FIGS. 2-5. Once the data reading mode is configured, theoperator may read a barcode or other optical label from a target itemvia the electronic device 100. With particular reference to FIG. 11,after the scanning process successfully reads and decodes the barcode orlabel from the target item, the trigger icon 175 may automaticallytransform or change appearance into a keypad (or keyboard) 425 that isoverlaid on the data entry fields 405, 410, 415, 420 to allow theoperator to input information via the keypad 425 into the specific dataentry fields 405, 410, 415, 420 as desired. In some embodiments, thekeypad 425 may be partially or entirely transparent to allow theoperator to view the data being entered into the fields 405, 410, 415,420 while the operator simultaneously uses the keypad 425. After thedata entry is complete, the operator may apply another control gestureto complete the process, at which point the keypad 425 transforms backinto the trigger icon 175 for processing of additional items.

In some embodiments, the displayed layout of the keypad 425 may bealtered based on a particular control gesture that is applied to thetrigger icon 175. For example, in some embodiments, a single tap on thetrigger icon 175 may display a normal QWERTY keyboard layout, and adouble tap on the trigger icon 175 may display a digital keypad withnumbers and associated letter combinations as is used in commontelephone layouts. In other embodiments, a different control gestureapplied on the trigger icon 175 may transform the trigger icon 175 intoa calculator to allow the operator to determine quantities or calculateother data, such as for entry in the quantity field 415. In someembodiments, the calculated amount may be automatically transferred fromthe calculator layout into the quantity field 415, or any other suitablefield. The particular features of the keypad 425, and/or theirassociation with particular control gestures may beprogrammed/configured on the electronic device 100 to suit theparticular needs of an individual operator.

In other embodiments, the operator or other personnel may programdifferent functional features of the trigger icon 175 such that thetrigger icon 175 changes to activate other features of the electronicdevice 100 in response to application of particular control gestures.For example, in some embodiments, the trigger icon 175 may be programmedto transform into a camera icon (or other suitable icon) to operate thedevice 100 in a video capture mode as described previously withreference to FIG. 7. In some embodiments, videos and/or photos may beautomatically transferred into an appropriate data field, such as thedescription field 420 during the scanning process. In other embodiments,the trigger icon 175 may be programmed to transform into other suitableicons to customize and configure the device 100, and to operate thedevice 100 in the data reading mode, video capture mode, data inputmode, and/or joystick mode described in previous embodiments.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example customizable soft menu 500 forconfiguring and enabling various features of the portable electronicdevice 100 and the trigger icon 175 in accordance with one embodiment.In some embodiments, the soft menu 500 may be used to configure lockdownfeatures of the device 100, define user profiles and set preferences,define and associate specific control gestures with a specific action ofthe device 100, and configure other suitable features as furtherdescribed below.

With reference to FIG. 12, in one embodiment, an operator may apply aunique control gesture on the screen 112 (or on the trigger icon 175) toactivate a soft menu 500, illustrating a variety of options and/or toolsfor customizing the device 100. For example, in one embodiment, anoperator may apply a sliding gesture across the screen 112 (similar tocontrol gesture 250 illustrated in FIG. 6). After applying the slidinggesture, the soft menu 500 may be enabled and displayed on the screen112 Preferably, the soft menu 500 is partially or entirely transparentsuch that it overlays other information displayed on the screen 112.However, in other embodiments, the soft menu 500 may not be transparent.

In one embodiment, the soft menu 500 may include any or all of thefollowing icons for configuring the electronic device 100: (1) a datafield configuration icon 505 for customizing the data fields or otherentry boxes that may be displayed such as during the data input mode 400of FIGS. 10-11; (2) a trigger configuration icon 510 forprogramming/customizing features of the trigger icon 175, such as toassociate specific control gestures with specific actions of the triggericon 175, or to select graphical characteristics of the trigger icon175, such as size, color, and location of the trigger icon 175; (3) alock icon 515 for controlling security and other locking features of thedevice 100; (4) a camera icon 520 for programming/customizing a cameraand related features such as during use of the video capture mode ofFIG. 7; (5) a connectivity icon 525 to configure Internet settings,Bluetooth, or other wireless settings of the device 100; and (6) adocument icon 530 such as for reporting technical issues and requestingsupport for troubleshooting the device 100. In some embodiments, thesoft menu 500 may also include a status bar 535 displaying the triggericon 175 and other selectable icons of the device 100. In someembodiments, the trigger icon 175 may be selected from the status bar535 to close the soft menu 500 and activate the data reading mode (orany other mode) of the device 100.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart illustrating a method for data reading by theportable electronic device 100 according to one embodiment. Withreference to FIG. 10, at step 810 the portable electronic device 100determines whether decoding parameters for the reading engine(s) 102 areavailable to the electronic device 100. To determine whether decodingparameters are available, the processing unit 104 may search memory 116,interface 122, and/or connector 109 to determine whether any decodingparameters are stored therein. The reading engines 102 may be configuredwith decoding parameters and filters as desired. The various decodingparameters and filters chosen may depend on the specific reading engine102 being configured and used, such as an optical barcode scanningengine or an RFID reading engine. In some embodiments, the decodingparameters and filters may include one or more of the following:instructions for length of time to spend on decoding 1D and 2D labelsand or RFID tags, instructions for reading data of a specific length,instructions for minimum and maximum acceptable length for 1D and 2Dlabels and RFID tags, parameters relating to label/tag prefix andpostfix, decoding aggressiveness, RFID classes and other traditionalsymbology and/or RFID tag characteristics. These instructions may varyfor each of the different reading engines 102 based on, for instance,the inherent limitations and characteristics of each data type.

Once the electronic device 100 has determined that decoding parametersfor the reading engine(s) 102 are available and accessible to theelectronic device 100, at step 820, the portable device 100, via theprocessing unit 104, determines whether corresponding unique controlgestures are associated with the reading engine(s) 102 and associateddecoding parameters. The portable data reader 100 may run a similarsearch protocol as described above with respect to step 810 to determinewhether control gestures are stored therein or stored on a remote systemaccessible to the data reader 100. As mentioned previously, each of thereading engines 102 (e.g., 1D, 2D, RFID engines, or other decodingengines) and their associated decoding parameters, or a specific subsetof decoding parameters, are assigned a unique control gesture. Thecontrol gestures allow an operator of the portable electronic device 100to call up a specific reading engine 102 and a desired set of decodingparameters simply by applying a particular control gesture to theportable electronic device 100. The control gestures may be assigned tothe reading engines 102 and decoding parameters using any suitableprogramming techniques. Instructions for assigning the control gesturesmay be programmed to the portable electronic device 100 using an inputdevice, such as the keyboard 108, or may otherwise be loaded using aconnector 109, such as through a USB device, Network Interface 114, orusing the interface 122, such as through a hard disk or CD-Rom drive, orany other suitable device. As was explained previously, the controlgestures 200 may be any of a single-touch gesture, a multi-touchgesture, or a unique pattern (see FIG. 5).

At step 830, the portable electronic device 100 detects or determineswhether a control gesture has been applied to the touch screen 112 at alocation where the floating trigger 175 is displayed. In someembodiments, the display controller 110 and/or the processing unit 104may be configured to determine whether a stylus instrument, a finger, orother pointing device has contacted the touch screen display 112. Thedisplay controller 110 and/or processing unit 104 may be programmed toignore intermittent or incidental contact (e.g., constant contact is notmaintained for a minimum time threshold) with the touch screen display112. In some embodiments, to simplify use of the electronic device 100,the touch screen display 112 may include a legend or other featurevisible to the operator with information regarding the assigned controlgestures for some or all of the reading engine 102 and decodingparameter configurations. In some embodiments, prior to applying acontrol gesture, the user may consult the legend or review controlgesture options displayed on the touch screen display 112 to ensure thatthe desired option is being applied. The unique control gesture isdetected by the portable electronic device 100.

In some embodiments, at step 840, the touch screen 112 may present aprompt to the operator allowing the operator to confirm or deny that theselection was properly made or received by the portable electronicdevice. In some instances, the operator may have erroneously applied acontrol gesture for a different reading engine 102 or a different set ofdecoding parameters than intended. In other instances, the portable datareader 100 may have misinterpreted the applied control gesture andcalled up the incorrect reading engine 102 or decoding parameters. Inany case, if the desired mode is not selected and the operator does notwish to continue with the selected settings, the operator maycommunicate to the electronic device 100 that the desired mode was notselected and thereafter re-apply the control gesture to select newsettings.

Once the portable data reader 100 detects or determines that a controlgesture has been applied, the display controller 110 and/or processingunit 104 may communicate with the memory 116, interface 122, connector109, or other system (e.g., a remote computer) to determine whether thedetected unique control gesture corresponds with a stored controlgesture for a reading engine 102 and/or specific decoding parameters. Atstep 850, the processing unit 104 determines the reading engine 102 thatcorresponds with the applied unique control gesture and configures theportable electronic device 100 in accordance with the selected readingengine 102.

At step 860, the portable electronic device 100 determines whether thetrigger icon has been selected to initiate a data capture event (e.g., abarcode reading). At step 870, the portable electronic device 100indicates whether a read was successful. In some embodiments, theportable electronic device 100 may emit a beeping sound or othergood/bad read tone, or may alter a color/appearance of the trigger icon,and/or display a message on the display 112 alerting the operator of theread status.

If the read was unsuccessful, the method may revert back to step 860 orany of the previous steps to reattempt the read. If the read wassuccessful, the portable electronic device 100 decodes the captured databased on the selected reading engine 102 and decoding parameters.Thereafter, the portable electronic device 100 may store the decodeddata in any suitable medium, such as in memory 116, in internal harddrive 124, on an external input device 107, or may instead send thedecoded data to another computer or device in communication with theportable electronic device 100.

It should be understood that while the steps in the method are presentedand described in a particular order, the order is for convenience onlyand is not meant to be limiting. In some embodiments, the steps may beperformed in an order different than what is specified herein. Inaddition, the method may include additional steps and features otherthan those included herein. In some embodiments, the method may combinecertain steps or omit certain steps altogether. For example, theportable device 100 may not seek the operator's input confirming theselected reading mode in step 840.

FIGS. 14 and 15 are flow charts illustrating methods for configuring andcustomizing features of the floating trigger icon, according to oneembodiment. In some embodiments, the methods/processes described withreference to FIGS. 14 and 15 may be used to configure and customizedifferent actions of the trigger icon 175 and/or to alter functionalityof the device 100 to satisfy individualized needs for a particularoperator. For example, the color, appearance, size, shape, position,behavior, and/or function of the trigger icon 175 may be customized fora particular operator and may change based on the tasks that are beingperformed with the device 100, such as reading data during a grocerystore transaction, capturing videos, and completing inventory. In someembodiments, the described configuration/customization protocols may bemade from a setting controls panel of the device 100, via a softwaredevelopment kit, during selection of an action via the device 100,and/or via other suitable mechanisms.

With reference to FIG. 14, the following describes example processes forconfiguring/using the trigger icon 175 of the device 100. With referenceto FIG. 14, at step 910, the operator applies an action/control gestureto activate the trigger icon 175 displayed on the screen 112 toconfigure a device action. The control gesture may be any of the controlgestures described previously in FIG. 5. In response to application ofthe control gesture on the screen 112, at step 920, the device maycommunicate to the operator that the control gesture has been receivedand identified. For example, in some embodiments, the device may displayan action animation on the screen 112. The action animation may be anygraphical behavior, such as a change in appearance, color, and/or sizeof the trigger icon 175. In some embodiments, the device 100 may also(or alternatively) generate action audio, such as an audible sound ortone, and/or an action haptic response, such as a minor vibration of thedevice. In other embodiments, the device may take other suitableactions.

At step 930, in response to selection of the trigger icon 175, theassociated action is configured for the device 100. For example, theaction may be a data reading mode, or a video capture mode, or aninventory mode, launching a customer application, displaying a field boxfor database lookup, or any other suitable mode. In some embodiments, atstep 940, the device 100 may alter the characteristics and functionalityof the trigger icon 175 based on the configured action. For example, ifthe selected action is to launch a data reading application, and theapplication successfully launches, the device 100 may automaticallyalter the trigger icon 175 to switch to a barcode scanning mode, whereselection of the trigger icon 175 activates or engages the scanningevent.

Thereafter, at step 950, the device 100 generates a response based oncompletion of the selected action mode. For example, in a data readingmode, the device 100 may indicate on the screen 112 that the readingevent was successful. At step 960, the device 100 provides feedback tothe operator to communicate the result of the configured action based onthe system response. In some embodiments, the feedback may be configuredor programmed to suit the preferences of each individual operator. Forexample, the screen 112 may display a feedback animation graphic toindicate whether the reading event was or was not successful. In oneembodiment, the screen 112 may display the animation of a star burstcentered on the trigger icon 175 when a barcode is successfully read bythe device 100, or display an expanding sphere on the trigger icon 175when the device 100 times out or does not successfully read the barcode.In other embodiments, the feedback may include a haptic response, suchas a vibration of the device 100 to indicate that the read was or wasnot successful.

It should be understood that while the steps in the method are presentedand described in a particular order, the order is for convenience onlyand is not meant to be limiting. In some embodiments, the steps may beperformed in an order different than what is specified herein. Inaddition, the method may include additional steps and features otherthan those included herein. In some embodiments, the method may combinecertain steps or omit certain steps altogether.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart of a timing sequence illustrating a systemresponse based on selection and activation of the trigger icon 175 asdescribed in the method of FIG. 14. With reference to FIG. 15, at timeT₁, the action gesture is applied to the screen 112 to configure aninitial action mode of the device 100. As mentioned previously, theaction mode may be a data reading mode, video capture mode, or othersuitable modes such as those described previously. Thereafter, at timeT₂, an action animation, action audio, and/or action haptic response aretransmitted to the screen 112, speakers, and/or sensors to communicateto the operator that the device 100 is appropriately configured based onthe applied action gesture. After the selected action mode is performedvia the device 100 (e.g., a data reading event is completed), at timeT₃, the operating system or other application transmits a systemresponse relating to the results of the selected action. Finally, attime T₄, feedback animation, feedback audio, and/or feedback hapticresponse is transmitted to the screen 112, speakers, and/or sensors ofthe device 100 to communicate to the user the results of the actionmode. As mentioned previously, the feedback animation, audio, and hapticresponse may be configured to be dependent on the specific systemresponse for the specific action mode.

It is intended that subject matter disclosed in any one portion hereincan be combined with the subject matter of one or more other portionsherein as long as such combinations are not mutually exclusive orinoperable. In addition, many variations, enhancements and modificationsof the concepts described herein are possible.

The terms and descriptions used above are set forth by way ofillustration only and are not meant as limitations. Those skilled in theart will recognize that many variations can be made to the details ofthe above-described embodiments without departing from the underlyingprinciples of the invention.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An electronic data reading devicecomprising: a housing adapted for handheld operation; a data capturesystem adapted for capturing data from an item located external to thehousing; a touch screen supported on the housing and configured todisplay information thereon, the touch screen including a touch screensurface having one or more sensors configured to detect an applicationof one or more unique control gestures on the touch screen surface; anda processing system in operable communication with the data capturesystem and the touch screen, the processing system configured to:display a floating trigger icon on the touch screen wherein the floatingtrigger icon is movable about the touch screen and configured as anaccess point for allowing the operator to: configure a plurality ofdifferent operational modes, including a data capturing operational modeand a data input operational mode, of the electronic data reading deviceresponsive to different unique control gestures detected by theprocessing system as applied to the floating trigger icon by theoperator; initiate a data capturing action by the data capture systemfor a selected data capturing operational mode of the electronic datareading device responsive to a first corresponding unique controlgesture applied to the floating trigger icon by the operator during theselected data capturing operational mode; and initiate a data inputaction for receiving data input from the operator responsive to a secondcorresponding unique control gesture applied by the operator during aselected data input operational mode, wherein the floating trigger iconis configured to alter its appearance from a first graphic appearance toa different second graphic appearance indicative of a selectedoperational mode of the plurality of different operational modesresponsive to application of the first or second corresponding uniquecontrol gesture, and wherein the electronic data reading device isconfigured to generate response feedback based on the completion statusof an action of the selected operational mode.
 2. The electronic datareading device of claim 1, wherein the floating trigger icon is furtherselectable to configure a keyboard of the electronic data reading deviceby applying a third corresponding unique control gesture to the floatingtrigger icon when in the selected data input operational mode.
 3. Theelectronic data reading device of claim 2, wherein the floating triggericon automatically transforms into the keyboard upon application of thethird corresponding unique control gesture for the selected data inputoperational mode.
 4. The electronic data reading device of claim 2,wherein the keyboard is transparent and overlays at least a portion ofthe information displayed on the touch screen.
 5. The electronic datareading device of claim 1, wherein the first graphic appearance and thesecond graphic appearance differ in at least one of a graphic, color,size, or combination thereof.
 6. The electronic data reading device ofclaim 1, wherein the selected operational mode is one of a data readingmode, a video capture mode, a data input mode, a joystick mode, acustomer application mode, or a database lookup mode.
 7. A method ofcapturing data from an item with an electronic data reading devicehaving a touch screen, a processing system, and data capture device, themethod comprising: displaying, by the processing system, a floatingtrigger icon on the touch screen of the electronic data reading device,the floating trigger icon configured as an access point for allowing theoperator to configure a plurality of different operational modes of theelectronic data reading device responsive to different unique controlgestures detected by the processing system as applied to the floatingtrigger icon by the operator; moving, by the processing system, thefloating trigger icon to different locations on the touch screenresponsive to a first corresponding unique control gesture applied tothe floating trigger icon; detecting, by the processing system,application of a second corresponding unique control gesture at thefloating trigger icon; altering, by the processing system, a displayedappearance of the floating trigger icon from a first graphic appearanceto a different second graphic appearance indicative of a selectedoperational mode of the plurality of different operational modesresponsive to application of the second unique control gesture;determining, by the processing system, a data capturing action thatcorresponds with the second corresponding unique control gesture;configuring, by the processing system, the electronic data readingdevice to perform the data capturing action; triggering, by theprocessing system, the data capturing action; and generating responsefeedback based on completion status of the data capturing actionaccording to the selected operational mode.
 8. The method of claim 7,wherein altering the displayed appearance includes configuring akeyboard of the electronic data reading device in response to detectingthe second corresponding unique control gesture applied at a firstregion of the touch screen at which the floating trigger icon isdisplayed.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the keyboard is transparentand overlays at least a portion of information displayed on the touchscreen.
 10. The method of claim 7, further comprising automaticallytransforming the floating trigger icon into a keyboard responsive tocompletion of the data capturing action to enable further data entryassociated with the item by the operator.
 11. The method of claim 10,further comprising automatically transforming the keyboard back into thefloating trigger icon responsive to completion of the further data entryand detection of another unique control gesture.
 12. The method of claim7, further comprising automatically transforming the floating triggericon into a calculator responsive to detection of another unique controlgesture.
 13. A method of capturing data with an electronic data readingdevice having a touch screen and a processing system, the methodcomprising: displaying, by the processing system, a floating triggericon on the touch screen of the electronic data reading device, thefloating trigger icon configured as an access point for allowing theoperator to configure a plurality of different action modes of theelectronic data reading device responsive to different unique controlgestures detected by the processing system as applied to the floatingtrigger icon by the operator; moving, by the processing system, thefloating trigger icon to different locations on the touch screenresponsive to a first corresponding unique control gesture applied tothe floating trigger icon; detecting, by the processing system,application of a second corresponding unique control gesture at a regionof the touch screen at which the floating trigger icon is displayed;altering, by the processing system, a displayed appearance of thefloating trigger icon from a first graphic appearance to a differentsecond graphic appearance indicative of a selected action mode of theplurality of different action modes responsive to application of thesecond corresponding unique control gesture; generating, by theprocessing system, action feedback based on the second correspondingunique control gesture; configuring, by the processing system, theelectronic data reading device to perform an action associated with theselected action mode; generating, by the processing system, a systemresponse based on a completion status of the selected action mode; andgenerating, by the processing system, response feedback based on thecompletion status of the selected action mode.
 14. The method of claim13, further comprising altering the floating trigger icon based on theselected action mode.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein the responsefeedback includes an animation response.
 16. The method of claim 13,wherein the response feedback is based on the selected action mode. 17.The method of claim 13, wherein the action feedback is programmable foreach action mode of the plurality of different action modes.
 18. Themethod of claim 13, wherein the response feedback is programmable foreach action mode of the plurality of different action modes.
 19. Themethod of claim 13, wherein the response feedback includes an audioresponse.
 20. The method of claim 13, wherein the response feedbackincludes a haptic response.